GAMES: Why "Bully" & "The Warriors" Are Still Rockstar's Best

Rockstar Games. They pretty much own the open world, free roaming genre of video games. Is there anybody who never played a “GTA” game? How about “Max Payne”, “Red Dead Redemption”, or even “LA Noire”? All great games! And yet, the company’s very best games are still the ones that are probably the least popular. I’m talking about “The Warriors” and “Bully”, both for PS2. I'm here to tell you why!

Let’s start with 2005’s “The Warriors”. If you haven’t seen the cult classic ‘79 movie this game is sort of based on, then I urge you to give it a try, but you actually don’t have to know the film to enjoy the game.

Both the game and the movie feature a pretty dark and brutal version of late ‘70s New York, with disco slowly dying out, hip hop culture just beginning its life, and gang violence being on an all-time high. The Warriors are a Coney Island gang, lead by Cleon, and just as the other NY gangs, they get summoned to attend a meeting that’s supposed to bring peace among the gangs. Something happens, though, and very soon the Warriors find themselves being targeted by all the other gangs, and needing to re-group and escape to Coney Island.

That’s the plot of the movie, but also part of the plot of the game – the game also tells us a lot about what happened BEFORE the summit, including how all the members joined the Warriors gang.

So what’s the gameplay like? Well, the first thing one might think is that it’s a little like GTA, but without driving vehicles. Well duh. What did you think? It’s New York, you use the subway unless you enjoy traffic. And anyway, you never miss using vehicles in this game. It’s centered completely on gang activities: tagging your territory and ruining the graffs of other gangs, mugging people (a nice little mini game), breaking and entering (some stealth needed), taking drugs that enhance your performance, stealing car stereos, beating up hobos and whoever else, maintaining your territory AND fighting cops and the many, many, very distinct rival gangs. Simply put, you get to turn the Warriors into a gang to be reckoned with.

Rembrandt (front) just finished this new piece.

There’s also a great mission during the blackout in New York, with people rioting and stealing everything they can get their hands on, and plenty of cops to look out for. Not only do you have to look out for yourself, but also for fellow Warriors. Camaraderie! The brawling and the amazingly fun vandalism has never been done better in any Rockstar game.

Warriors fighting the Baseball Furies (left) and the slightly less skilled Orphans (right).

After each mission (you usually play each mission as a different character), you unlock a special Flashback mission, showing you how each of the gang started and how its members joined. These are fantastic, since the characters are really good, and they all have to do different badass things to get admitted to the gang. There’s a mission where to join the gang you have to bring Cleon a hat from one of the pimp-like rival gang members. Catch is, it needs to be a specific size (“That’s not a hat, that’s a bucket.”). So you go to their territory, slowly beat your way through their ranks, picking up each hat (yes, you can put them on. I know - AWESOME!!) and making remarks about these hats until you find a really big guy. The absurdity of it, the violence and the great humor and fantastic voice-acting (a lot of the original actors come back, and they all give great performances, especially James Remar as Ajax) really make playing this game a blast.

Running from the skinhead Turnbull ACs.

Good thing about being in a gang is that you never walk alone. And here comes the best part of playing “The Warriors”: it can be a two-player game. That’s right, it has the best co-op I’ve seen in ages. Me and my brother used to replay this game together every Christmas for a while (because there’s nothing more Christmassy than gang violence). It’s amazing and it makes an already great game 50 times better. Sure, it’s split-screen (when you’re not close enough to each other), and that’s never perfect, but playing this with a friend sitting with you in the same room is as good as games get. You have to work together to achieve your goals, and it’s highly satisfying and entertaining as hell.

If that’s not enough, you can always command other Warriors present in the area. There have been many gang games, but none even come close to the combination of insanely awesome things that “Warriors” has going for it. You don’t have to play it on two-player, but you can (and you can actually switch between playing single or two player during the story mode, if I recall) and it’s the best two-player experience since “Contra”.

The co-op (left) and Cleon kicking ass.

If that’s not enough, “The Warriors” have plenty more to offer. The music is all taken from what was popular on the NY streets in that era, and it enhances the atmosphere a lot. Try beating up The Orphans to the disco hit “Knock On Wood”. It’s magical. If you’re a hip hop fan, you will also be happy to hear guest voice acting from people like DMC, El-P, Aesop Rock and more. Also, when games like these have “challenges” or bonus games to play after you finish the story, they’re usually not very good. Here, they are a lot of fun, especially the side-scroller beat’em up that you can play once the game is completed.

A year after “The Warriors”, Rockstar Vancouver (also responsible for “Max Payne 3”) released “Bully”, AKA “Canis Canem Edit”, and as much as I love “The Warriors” and consider it a perfect game, I think I might like “Bully” even more.

“Bully” is completely a Rockstar original creation, not based on any previously available material. You play as a “difficult” young teenager, Jimmy Hopkins, who has just been transferred to New England’s Bullworth Academy, where he will spend the entire school year. That alone is a genius and very unique premise, and the game makes the most out of it.

Once you explore the campus a bit, and make friends with the sociopath kid, who you soon find out is actually the main antagonist, you learn more about the different “fractions” of Bullworth students. There are all the classics here: jocks, preppies, nerds and greasers. All of these groups stick together, and as the game progresses, Jimmy will interact with them, trying to find his place and also making the most out of his time at Bullworth. After the few initial missions, you can go outside the campus and explore the nearby town.

Because the game takes place mostly at a school, and you’re a kid, there are all kinds of student activities you have to do. Other than getting into all the different subcultures, you also have to go to class from time to time. When you do, each class (including English, Chemistry, Art, PE etc.) has a different set of mini games, which are actually pretty fun, and each of them allows Jimmy to learn things he may need in the game. For example, doing good in the chemistry class will teach him to make improvised weapons, like stink bombs, firecrackers and the like. Who knew going to class in a video game could ever be fun?

Jimmy skating and doing science.

Since the title of the game is “Bully”, there’s obviously a lot of fighting involved. Jimmy mostly uses his fists and feet, though there’s everything from a slingshot, "bottle rocket launcher", to bats, itching powder, the aforementioned stink bombs and firecrackers and much, much more. You can also do things like putting other kids in the trash can, fighting them, giving them wedgies and making all sorts of pranks on them (closing them in their lockers, putting their heads in the toiler and many other classics).

Beating little kids or girls have bad consequences, though, just to ensure you’re not being a complete psychopath in the game (the game has a pretty comedic tone, so it’s not like you’re playing some gigantic asshole, anyway). You never kill anybody, since you’re a kid, and you can’t be killed either. You can however get knocked out, and you don’t want that, so you better visit that crazy loon who lives in a an old school bus close to the school. He'll teach ya some combos.

Mischief! Makes me miss school a little.

When you go to the town, the number of things to do grows even further, and compared to all the extra stuff to do in games like “GTA V” or “Red Dead Redemption”, these are actually all fun and worth trying out. The map here isn’t nearly as big as in the other Rockstar games, but it’s packed with stuff you will want to check out. You can travel either by skateboard, all types of bikes, a scooter, and later on by go-kart. The game really makes the most out of being a young teen: the weapons and vehicles available to you are things that a kid could actually use. You will use them to get in plenty of elaborate plots and hijinks at the campus and the surrounding areas (even though the Bullworth students are young teens, I can't help but think that this game reminds me of the movie "Animal House"). You can also change Jimmy’s appearance to your liking, so you look stylish while fighting jocks and nerds or romancing girls.

Slingshots. They're cool.

The game’s plot is pretty great. It’s fantastically written and you will find yourself sucked into the Bullworth ''student life''. Playing the game can actually be a bit of a nostalgic experience (especially if you were a "difficult" student, too!), and that’s a testament to Bully's greatness. The experience is also helped by a great original soundtrack, scored by Shawn Lee. It's a simple, yet very catchy and fitting score. This game is really unlike anything I’ve ever played, and all these things add up to it being a very memorable gaming experience.

Run Jimmy, the jocks are after you.

Going back to the game’s environment, one thing I really love here, is that Jimmy spends the whole school year at Bullworth, in New England. And that means something that’s not often seen in sandbox type games: climate changes. The map may be small, but when you add to it that you will see it throughout all the seasons, and that it will be changed by them considerably, you have something great going. Sure, games like GTA or RDR have a little bit of different climates to see in them, usually there’s a small area where there’s snow or something, but I don’t believe I ever saw another free roam game showing you the world throughout the seasons. The summer at Bullworth differs from the fall, and when the snow falls down some areas take on a completely new life.

Also: there will be stuff like Christmas and Halloween at Bullworth to experience! HALLOWEEN! How awesome is that? I won’t even spoil it, but that part of the game has some really funny moments.

Also, there's a fine selection of crappy winter sweaters, and you can use snowballs as weapons.

All in all, “Bully” is the perfect game. It still holds up remarkably well (same with “The Warriors”) and as far as gameplay goes, it’s just superb.

On top of that, it has what a lot of sandbox games really lack: a soul. I’m not even kidding, this game is a bit of a “coming of age” story. It’s funny, it’s cool and the story is compelling. With a lot of sandbox games, the experience can often feel a bit empty. You sometimes find yourself shooting civilian number #24539 or tying another prostitute to the railroad tracks and thinking “Where did my enthusiasm for this go?? I USED TO ENJOY THIS!!”. But “Bully” delivers an experience and atmosphere that doesn't wear out after a couple hours. I still often think about this game or suddenly have the soundtrack stuck in my head, even though I haven’t played it in a good few years.

Two great games, both entirely different from each other. Both having either concepts or elements that set them apart from Rockstar's more known titles. There are things about both these games that you can't classify as simply "a western game" or "a crime game". Both of these were Rockstar trying something new, something that hasn't been done like that before or since, and completely nailing it. They strike the perfect balance between Rockstar's trademark sandbox style and a sense of atmosphere and direction. Having played and enjoyed most of Rockstar's output, it's these two story-driven games that still feel to me like the prime examples of what the company does best.

Dust your PS2 off. Get “Bully”. Get “The Warriors”. Thank me later!

Have you played these two Rockstar classics? What did you think of them? I am a big fan of Rockstar games, but I consider these two the best. What are some of your favorites? Sound off in the comments!